<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Never in a Million Years by ArielAquarial</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27715400">Never in a Million Years</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielAquarial/pseuds/ArielAquarial'>ArielAquarial</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Family of Three [28]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Backstory, Bickering, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Holiday Traditions, M/M, Married Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:53:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27715400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielAquarial/pseuds/ArielAquarial</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>If someone had told Cas six years ago that he was going to be a happily married man with two kids, he would have laughed. Now, with Dean by his side, he couldn't imagine things being different, even if the path to get there had been a little rocky.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Family of Three [28]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1127873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>147</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Never in a Million Years</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If someone had told Cas six years ago that he was going to be a happily married man with two kids, he would have laughed. Back then, Cas was too busy trying to navigate Claire turning one and still reeling over being left by Michael to even consider getting married again, let alone add a second child to the downhill slide that was his life at the time.</p><p>His relationship with Michael had never been perfect. They bickered and argued like any other couple, had disagreements just like everyone else, but they loved each other. At least, for a while they did. They had fallen for each other fast and hard, and after four years of dating had gotten married. The transition into married life had been an easy one. It wasn’t until three years into it that things started to change. The bickering slowly morphed into arguing, and that arguing morphed into yelling matches, but still… They’d said their vows, and Cas was nothing if not a dedicated man. They’d work through things just like they always did. Even if Michael’s eye-rolling was becoming a regular occurrence and his barbs were beginning to cut deep.</p><p>When Michael suggested expanding the family, Cas didn't see it for what it was: an attempt to fix their relationship. He’d told many of his friends that a child never fixed a problem relationship, but that wasn't what they were doing. They didn’t have a problem relationship; they were just hitting a rough patch like every other couple did. They weren’t trying to glue themselves back together, they were fine. </p><p>Like everything in their life, once they agreed to do something, it happened quickly. They picked a surrogate, and Castiel provided the sample. Time flew and suddenly, their surrogate went into labor and sweet little Claire was finally with them. She was a small baby, prone to colic which kept them up all night, but Cas had never been more in love. No one could look into her wide eyes and toothless smile and not see that she was the most perfect child in existence.</p><p>It started small. More hours at work, some extra business trips, a few nights out with his college buddies, and before he knew it, Cas was going days between having any meaningful interactions with his husband. More often than not, Cas would wake up at two in the morning to his husband crawling into their bed, and that was it. Michael—when he was home—became snappy and short-tempered, with him and their newborn. Getting him to hold Claire felt like an uphill battle, and when he succeeded, she was handed back after only a few short minutes even if she wasn’t crying. Still, he was hopeful for the future. Having a family was stressful, but he was sure Michael would come around.</p><p>Cas’s happiness lasted five months before he came home from work to find Michael packing his things. He didn’t yell, or even attempt to argue as Michael steadfastly ignored his presence, just watched as his husband gathered his things and loaded them into his car.</p><p>With only “I’ll send you the divorce papers” as parting words, Michael was gone. There was no hope of reconciliation and no chance of changing his mind. Cas knew the minute that Michael walked out on him, he was never coming back.</p><p>Suddenly a single dad, he had written off men completely. No one wanted to date a man with a child, especially a divorced one with as much baggage as Cas. It was too much responsibility, too much pressure. After all, Cas was ultimately looking for a father for his child and most men his age weren't looking for a family, they were looking for a quick fling. It didn’t help that the people he found on dating sights were absolutely horrible. If he wasn't getting sent a dick pick within three texts, he was being ghosted the moment he mentioned Claire. Gabe told him to leave her out of it, but she was such a big part of his life that not mentioning her felt deceitful.</p><p>It was hard, but every time Claire smiled at him and babbled nonsensically, he was reminded that she was worth everything, even being single for the rest of his life. As long as he had her, he would be fine.</p><p>He threw himself into his work and hobbies, filling his time with reading and sewing Claire little dresses so he wouldn’t have to think about how lonely he was. Before his eyes, she was growing from a baby who scooted along the floor, to a toddler that scampered naked through the house, shrieking in laughter as her flustered dad chased her around with a diaper.</p><p>They went through teething, potty training, scrapes, and bruises. He watched her demolish developmental milestones, and saw her develop a personality before his very eyes. He was happy with his lot in life, content with where he had landed, and then… he met Dean.</p><p>Never in a million years would he forget the moment his eyes met Dean’s for the first time. He had never once felt self-conscious at a reenacting event, not even when his navy group convinced him to let them press-gang him in front of a crowd and dragged him back to camp kicking and yelling. Not even when he got into screaming matches with his fellow reenactors about taxation while onlookers filmed. But one day out of nowhere, Claire barreled into his legs and whispered into his ear about the man that waved to her, and suddenly he was staring into the eyes of the most handsome man he’d ever met while wearing dirty, soot-stained breeches and a sweat-soaked shirt and vest that smelled like campfire and meat. He was a mess, and hardly fit to interact with the public, but without meaning to, he found himself abandoning the fire and making his way towards the man with the green eyes, holding his daughter securely in his arms.</p><p>The closer he got, the more he noticed. The man’s hair was brown, lit up by the sun. He had charming crinkles around his eyes, showing a life full of laughter and putting the man comfortably close in age to himself. He was wearing a thin white t-shirt, equally soaked with sweat around the neckline, showing off strong shoulders and forearms that spoke to familiarity with hard work.</p><p>Before he knew it, he was in front of the man and the woman he appeared to be with, finding himself at a loss for words for the first time in years. Normally, he’d launch into some kind of speech involving food, but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and he was unable to look away from the man’s sun-kissed face, freckled and flushed and absolutely perfect.</p><p>“Hello,” he heard himself say, and suddenly the woman beside him was talking a mile a minute, complimenting his daughter and putting Cas at ease.</p><p>His shoulders relaxed and he was finally able to take a breath as his attention was drawn to the woman. He had no idea how he got through the next few minutes of small talk before finally learning his name. Dean.</p><p>Cas tried his hardest to keep his attention on the woman, afraid that if he looked into the man’s green eyes one more time, he’d never be able to look away, but it was a monumental task. In the back of his mind, he was aware Charlie was talking to him about her business, but he was too focused on watching the man out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t until he accepted a few business cards from her, that the man opened his mouth.</p><p>“So, Cas— can I call you Cas?”</p><p>He shrugged, trying to appear casual, but no one had called him Cas since his college days, and he was giddy at the idea of Dean using such a familiar nickname. “That’s fine.”</p><p>And suddenly, they were off, talking and smiling and possibly even flirting. It was exhilarating. He hadn’t been flirted with in what felt like years, but here Dean was, smirking and complimenting his daughter and letting Cas know he liked kids in such a way that made his interest undeniable. He was lightheaded and in shock at the way Dean blatantly eyed him up and down and made him feel desirable for the first time since his divorce four years ago.</p><p>That night, as he cuddled Claire on his twin-sized cot and listened to her blabber on about how her day had gone, he couldn’t get Dean out of his mind. He’s spent so long coming to terms with the idea he was going to spend the rest of his life alone, that he never considered what he would do if someone actually showed interest in him. Cas kept telling himself that nothing would come from it, that a man as charismatic as Dean would probably lose interest in him soon enough, but he couldn’t help the small spark of hope that was warming his chest.</p><p>He never thought he’d be brave enough to give Dean his phone number when he returned the next day, and never expected to go on a date with the man less than a week later.</p><p>Now—years later—here he was, sitting on the couch with Dean and watching cheesy Christmas movies after he put the kids to bed, their bellies still full of Thanksgiving dinner. Sam and Jess, along with their two children, had long since left, taking with them half of the leftovers. It had been noisy and chaotic but incredibly fun.</p><p>“I just don’t understand why they’re having him stay at the hospital. He broke his leg! I mean, I’ve never flown, but I’m pretty sure they’d let him on a plane...”</p><p>“So they can fall in love, shh,” Cas answered, not taking his eyes off the tv.</p><p>Dean rolled his eyes and started clicking away on his phone. “Look, it says right here that you can fly with a broken bone as long as you didn’t break it the day of. All you have to do is wait twenty-four hours and they’ll let you on the plane. This is dumb.”</p><p>“Shh.”</p><p>“So, they should have sent him home after they gave him his cast. If they were so worried about the press finding him, he woulda been better off at his castle.”</p><p>“Dean. I know you’re not trying to ruin our first Christmas movie of the year.”</p><p>“I’m just sayin…”</p><p>Cas turned to glare. “Well, stop sayin.”</p><p>“It’s a pretty big plot hole, right? And don’t even get me started on her brother…”</p><p>“You can leave, you know.”</p><p>“And miss out on our little tradition?” He scoffed, his green eyes sparkling in amusement. “I would never do that to you. I love watching crappy movies together!”</p><p>Cas rolled his eyes and turned back to the tv just in time to see them staring lovingly into each other's eyes, romantic music playing and lips pulling away. “Did I just miss their first kiss?”</p><p>Dean pressed his mouth shut.</p><p>“Dean. You made me miss their first kiss.”</p><p>“Oops.”</p><p>“That’s one of the only things worth watching in these movies.”</p><p>“No, it isn’t. Your favorite part is the bullshit ‘Oh, we can't be together because you’re a prince, and I’m just a lowly kindergarten teacher’ part. And then they split up and have a dramatic reunion.”</p><p>“Claire never complains about the movies.”</p><p>“That’s because she leaves halfway through. Trust me, babe, I’m not complaining. These movies are always so ridiculous it makes it worth watching.”</p><p>“That must be why you like Dr. Sexy so much.”</p><p>Dean turned to glare at him. “Don’t you dare go there. Anyways, what were we talking about?”</p><p>“You made me miss the first kiss.”</p><p>“Oh yeah. Sorry?” Dean turned back to the movie, his lips fighting a smile.</p><p>It had never been like this with Michael. When they were first married, Cas had been ecstatic over the chance to create their own holiday traditions, and the holiday he had been most excited for was Christmas. It had always been his favorite time of the year, and the only time he was able to see his cousins and other extended family.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, Michael didn’t share his enthusiasm. Everything he tried was met with resistance. Going to a tree farm and buying a tree wouldn’t work because, according to Michael, real trees were too messy. The next day Cas came home to a fake tree that came pre-hung with lights. Trying not to take it personally, he tried to get his husband excited about buying a special new ornament at the start of each December, but Michael wanted all of the ornaments to match perfectly. That year, he looked at his fake tree with its matching set of crystal ornaments and sparkling ribbons with contempt. He always had a reason Cas’s ideas were bad, even ideas like spending the holiday with Cas’s parents or starting a gift exchange with their friends were out of the question.</p><p>It only took him a few years to give up completely. The next time Christmas came around, he parked himself on their loveseat with a glass of wine and turned on the tv. The Hallmark movie playing was so bad that Cas was enthralled by the couple’s ridiculous misunderstanding, not even caring when Michael walked by and gave the tv a dismissive look. The next year, Cas started watching the movies even earlier in December, and the year after that, he started on Thanksgiving.</p><p>Michael could have his fake tree and matching ornament set. Cas even stopped caring that they only went to Michael’s parents’ house for Christmas. The one thing he couldn’t have was this. Even when Michael rolled his eyes and called it dumb. Even when Michael played loud music in the kitchen because Castiel refused to pay attention to him when a movie was playing. Even when they were divorced and he cuddled onto the couch with a sleeping Claire in his arms, grateful that he had her in his life. These cheesy movies were his tradition.</p><p>Cas’s glare softened the longer he stared at his husband. Dean could be so aggravating sometimes. The way he ate burgers resembled the way a snake swallows its meals whole. At the end of the day, the smell of his socks was enough to make Cas’s eyes water. When he rolled over in the middle of the night, he flopped around like a fish and woke Cas up, and sometimes he took ridiculously long in the bathroom. But he had the biggest heart of anyone he’s ever met. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be able to watch stupid movies with this beautiful man.</p><p>Never in a million years did he think he’d be so happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Drop a comment if you feel so inclined!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>